Service Excellence & Governance

How do I become a successful service manager?

Successful as a Service Manager

Service and after sales managers take care of the relationship with the customer after the primary business has already been completed was.

Therefore one also speaks of After-sales management. They try to sell the customer training, maintenance, spare parts, repairs and more for the purchased products in order to generate additional steady income.

In large companies, service managers sometimes command half a battalion of technicians. In smaller companies, business can sometimes be less glamorous because customer service is often unfortunately somewhat neglected. But with the right methods, you can usually turn things around relatively quickly in smaller companies.

These qualities guarantee your success as a service manager:

1. service managers must be able to sell!

Service is not just about helping customers with problems with their products. With after-sales services, you can also earn money and generate constant revenue. Unfortunately, this fact has not yet sunk in everywhere, which is why customer service is often not showered with budget. If you want to wrest financial resources from your boss for your innovative service ideas, this also requires sales talent and persuasion.

Selling services is somewhat different from selling primary products. A successful Sales strategy in after-sales should be the basis on which you build your activity.

2. hands-on mentality

Service is a fast-moving business. Often the customer has a not inconsiderable problem when he comes to your door. In this case, you have to react quickly. A talent for improvisation is essential. You must be able to come up with an adequate solution in a short time. Otherwise, an entry often simply disappears wordlessly from your customer file. Customers are less loyal in the service business than in the sale of primary products. For you, this means rolling up your sleeves!

3. strong nerves

Customers are not always in the best of moods when they contact you. The top priority then is to stay calm! If you do your job confidently, you can earn some laurels as a service manager. The bigger the problem seems, the more relieved the customer is as soon as you have conjured up an accurate solution from your sleeve. And that is possible in almost all cases!

When something goes wrong, your expertise as a service manager is particularly in demand. Successful Compensation Negotiations are a suitable means of regaining the customer's trust.

4. technical understanding

Digitalization is rapidly changing the economy. The service business is also undergoing constant change due to technological innovations. Self service, predictive maintenance and increasingly artificial intelligence should not be daunting topics for you. You should also have a basic understanding of mechanical engineering to earn the respect of service technicians.

One of the most important technology innovations in service is Predictive Maintenance. Modern maintenance strategies offer impressive possibilities for the production of the future.

5. employee management

Service technicians can sometimes be very eccentric characters. That's not surprising in this business. Your employees are often under a lot of pressure. In technical customer service, you need characters who can bite their way through. Be understanding and have your team's back! Capable technicians are the backbone of any service department. Without your support, your success will be a distant memory.

Dealing with difficult customers is also a burden for service technicians. It is good to know how to deal with such situations Build employees can and keeps satisfaction in the department consistently high.

6. management skills

As a service manager, you should have a handle on your department's finances and not have slept through business administration lectures. Satisfied customers are an important thing. But you should be a little more ambitious. After all, the ultimate goal should be to make a profit with your services.

Without the development of suitable business models, nothing will work here. Then you also have an excellent position vis-à-vis top management to negotiate financial investments.

7. after-sales managers should choose their employer wisely!

Have we already talked about the fact that the service department is often viewed somewhat stepmotherly? Many companies do not yet manage customer service as an independent business area with its own profit and loss statement.

Look for an employer who is aware of the value that successful after-sales management holds! Then you can achieve a lot in this field. Good customer service is becoming more and more important as companies cannot easily differentiate themselves from competitors with their primary products these days.

Innovations from the field of Industry 4.0 are fundamentally changing production processes. This can also be dangerous for many a machine manufacturer. The trend toward product-as-a-service is emerging. You should choose a company for your business that has the Future of the service wants to help shape and does not refuse to do so.

8. strategic understanding

Systematically building up customer service takes time and a well-developed concept. A strategic approach is therefore an absolute must. Precise planning is absolutely essential in order to get the best out of your department with limited resources. However, this is also what makes this job so appealing. A little patience is not necessarily detrimental to success.

There are especially 5 success factors for expanding the services businessThe following are some of the key factors you can rely on to ensure you are strategically well positioned in after-sales.

9. the most important thing: the customer

Through it all, you must always focus on the needs of the customer. Building a good relationship takes time, but it's worth the effort. Success in this business depends in no small part on good relationships. Be the one they call when they need you.

A fixed Customer loyalty is somewhat different in service than in primary business. This fact should be taken into account in the strategic planning of customer relationships.     

Some of you will already have the aforementioned qualities. To those who are still on your way to becoming a successful service manager, I would like to say: Don't be put off by the requirements mentioned! All of these skills are acquired through experience. After all, you don't wake up overnight as the Director After Sales of a company in the enterprise segment. - Dr. Simon Tonat

 

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